Stockholm Daily Life is Our Focus

Stockholm is growing. By 2030, estimates say the City of Stockholm will have more than one million inhabitants and the Stockholm-Mälardalen region nearly 3.5 million. We encounter Stockholm’s citizens every day in their daily lives—at the beginning, middle, and end of their lives. Their needs are indicative of the city’s development. To join the demand for increased services and availability with resource efficiency, the city has combined business development with technological possibilities for many years.

In December 2010, the Chamber of Commerce designated Stockholm the best e-government municipality. And in November 2010, we received the E-Diamond Award, which goes to organizations that successfully develop e-services to facilitate contact with its citizens and businesses. The secret to our success is a clear vision for our e-government, management, and governance, and that we have the will and power to change.

In early February 2011, the city council decided to extend the city’s effort to develop e-services for two more years and use the remaining SEK 174 million to provide Stockholm with better service. As things become easier for the people, the city is reviewing its procedures and finding smarter ways of working. The city council’s decision is a decision to continue to be even better at e-government.

Stockholm currently has nearly 50 e-services, and 20 more will be launched in 2011—services that citizens and businesses can use whenever it suits them best. This year, more than 70% of parents searched for school classes at stockholm.se, and just as many applied for a heat pump drilling permit. We know that our digital services are used, and we know from our surveys that citizens want more services on our website.

We also know that residents and businesses don’t always know which municipality or authority they should contact. In our vision for 2030, our services will be trans-organizational. Together with the region’s municipalities and county councils, we are working to find ways and means for solutions based on the user’s needs, not the organization’s. We all need to do our homework, review procedures, and critically examine our own approach. We know that it pays to combine business development with technological possibilities. We also know that there are no shortcuts to success with a high level of service, simple, clear, secure e-services, transparency, and smart solutions. We know that our decision to have a world-class e-government makes a difference in the daily lives of the people of Stockholm.

Irene Svenonius, CEO of The City of Stockholm.